Cleaned up my barn find, no, not a car
 

A while back I posted about an old carpenters chest I got. Finally got around to cleaning it up a bit.
I smoothed some splintered edges and gave a it a wipe with murphys oil soap. I decided not to "restore" it just going to give it a good wax.

The tools I wiped down and waxed, they are surprisingly in good shape. Im loving the 4 sliding drawers on the side.

From what I can tell the chest is about 120-150 years old. Most of the tools are less than that though some are still pushing 100.

2 more pics if I can post them.

the faces of the inside are cherry with poplar being the rest. I believe the mail body to be mostly mahogany.

I love seeing stuff like that. It's a craftsman's time capsule.

That's a treasure trove of woodworker's tools from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

I have my grandfather's box and it's surprising how similar they look - I'll try to grab a picture of it later.

Unfortunately I believe all of the inner pieces are missing - it was my father's toy box when he was a kid.

What's cool is these tools actually did get used in building things.

I recently remodeled a stairway and removed the plaster in a old tutor house. Found chiseled wood, planer curls, notes, and hand made shims...

Thanks for sharing. Very cool piece.

Pete, the one I had back in the 70s was identical to yours, but not painted. It's finish was shellac over unstained wood. Felt lined too. Even empty it weighed a ton, so it was in one spot only.... as coffee table in the living room. Just don't stub a toe on it. LOL

Very nice; I love those kinds of things.

I have my dad's Gerstner Bros tool box from when he was a die maker. I left everything just the way he had it (including a picture of my mom in the lid).

I use the tools, too.

K

That's a great old box. My Grandfather, and one of my uncles, were carpenters in South Philly. My pop had some of his old toolboxes but they were pretty beat up and the tools were mostly gone. I have a small collection of wooden molding planes - love to hear them zip through wood. Modern shapers are fast but also noisy and dangerous - those old blades just sing when set right. Enjoy

Thanks for sharing...that is just flat killer. Glad you didn't 'restore' it. What a time capsule.....when men were men and Millennials didn't exist yet!

I love those old boxes. I wanted to get an old wood machinist box for work but the environment wouldn't be the best for that. I want this box for obvious reasons:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191932510470...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Still saved to my watch list in case I find the money laying around and just have to have that.

I'm thinking Antiques Road Show.